5 minutes with Blake

HESTA’s Member Engagement Consultant Blake Beaumont reveals the most common questions he gets asked by members and shares one thing about super he wishes everyone knew.

Tell us a bit about your role.

I’m a Member Engagement Consultant which means I give general advice to our HESTA members.

As part of their membership, our members can book a 30-minute advice appointment at no extra cost. In this appointment, I’ll explore the options available to our members and help them make an informed decision about the next best steps for them.

Part of my role is to make things simple for our members and educate them in a way that will resonate with them. I get a lot of satisfaction from being able to help people make a real difference to their retirement. 

What is the most common question members have?

Market movement is a big one. I will quite often talk to members who have questions about the performance of their investment options.

With this one, it’s important to understand that it’s natural for investments to go through their ups and downs. Often the worst thing to do is switch investment options when the market is low because then you’re locking in that loss.

Generally, when you look at trending performance over the long term, you can still expect a diversified investment to show growth. 

What about members who are getting ready to retire?

Often people think that when they retire, they have to withdraw all their super and put it into their bank account.

As well as having potential Centrelink entitlement implications, this means their super is no longer invested in the market and they’re missing out on potential returns.

One option to consider when you’re winding back from full-time work is a transition to retirement income stream. This means you could work fewer hours while drawing some income from your super and keep growing your balance at the same time. Some members use it to help save on tax too.

Or if you’re ready to fully retire, you can think about a retirement income stream. This is an account-based pension and a flexible way to access your super after you retire while the balance stays invested.

Are there any tools on our website that you would recommend to our members?

Absolutely. I always refer members to Future Planner. If you’re thinking about switching investment options or putting a salary sacrifice arrangement in place, Future Planner can help you visualise the impact that decision will have on your projected retirement balance.

Our Risk Profiler is another tool I would recommend if you’d like to understand your attitude to risk which will help you make more informed decisions about how to invest your super.

What’s one thing about super you wish all HESTA members knew about?

I would say it’s the ability to make personal deductible contributions. No one wants to pay any more tax than necessary, and something about super that isn’t often known is that it is a really effective tax minimising vehicle.

So if you’ve got money you’d like to invest for the long-term, super contributions are worth considering.

You may also be eligible to carry forward unused concessional contributions from the previous five financial years and use this to reduce your taxable income along with it.

When you're not helping HESTA members, what do you like to do?

I love spending time at the beach with my young family.